I'm trying to find a larger tank, for a lesser price....So I've been looking of Craigs list. A surprising number of tanks are being sold with all the gravel, crushed coral sand etc....some still with fish most just full and running with no fish. Some really great deals to be found on the 55 gal tank which would be a fun tank to have...New I could probably only afford a 20 gallon and it would take me a few months to populate it with plants/fish...

At first thought a tank thats running and has been cycled sounds great....but I am wondering how to make sure the tank thats set updoesnt carry any disease etc. I know that sounds a bit wierd, but I just wonder about it. I'm a big fan of Craigs list for things like couches, or dishware, but a tank is rather like a living organism which is a bit harder to evaluate...

Any helpful hints?

Fishcricker

03-21-2009 04:21 PM

:-D Yes, it does take some Careful considerations when purchasing used tanks and such. People sell off tanks for a variety of reasons. Loss of interest, loss of job, higher utilities, changes going on in their lives and more. There are alot of nice setups to be had for pennies on the dollar this way. There is nothing lost in looking at them. If they have fish in them yet, look them over for any notable problems such as diseases, thinness, frayed fins. Take a CLOSE look at the tank to see if any repairs have been made (new silicon spots) , any chips on the corners of the tank from rough handling, and cleanliness. If you are afraid of livestock involved, then maybe go for an empty setup, but be sure they let you fill it to see if it leaks. Always let common sense prevail. ;-)

Tyyrlym

03-23-2009 01:26 PM

Craigslist is a great place to find a tank. There are a few provisos however.

1) Ask if the tank has been treated for ich or parasites. Additionally ask for the name of any medications that might have been used on the tank. If you're going to use the tank as a reef tank or want to keep lots of inverts the copper in those medicines could potentially leech into the silcone and be released later, killing your inverts. Even if they say they haven't be prepared to bust out anyways because there's no guarantee they're remembering everything or even just lying to you.

2) Ask if the tank's been repaired before. If they've had to fix cracks, chips, or bad silicone then beware.

3) Make sure they're asking for 30% of the new price or less. Some people charge 50%+ of what a new tank would cost, those are not good deals and not worth chancing buying.

Don't worry about disease, if the tank has been left empty and dry anything in it will have died off. If you're really worried just scrub the tank down with a 5 to 10% bleach solution once its home and let it air dry for a few days before filling.

Do ask to have the tank filled and check for leaks before you buy it, and see the test yourself. This might not be practical on large tanks but anything under 37 and under shouldn't be a problem.

Fishin Pole

03-23-2009 01:59 PM

One other side note you might want to pay attention to what the people had in them before..............Some people buy a critter cage for there pet iguana and then think its an aquarium...........There is a difference between the two tanks........Critter cages are generally not waterproof and are not made from the same thickness as their counterparts in the aquarium trade.........Just some useful inof when buying used aquariums, not meant to insult or talk down to anyone

Katydid

03-23-2009 07:06 PM

All great advice! Craigs list has a lot of aquariums being sold that were used to house iguanas. People say that they can hold fish, btu I imagine that they havent tried.....

Depending on how the moving goes, will be looking at a few tanks this weekend....

(Big multistate move...driving me crazy, so instead of planning, I am hiding here. on the forum..)

lowco1

03-23-2009 07:25 PM

Getting tanks on craigs list is awsome I got one of my 55 gals off of it. you dont have to use the equipment that it comes with, I ended up not using the gravel and the filter that came with mine but I did end up using the rocks from hawaii. In my opinion I think that after you buy a tank off of craigs list I would drain the tank all the way and do a thorough cleaning on it and every thing that came with it and then make the tank the way you want it and estabish the biological filtration your self, it might take a bit longer but I believe that is is worth it. Not to mention when you buy tanks off of craigs list most of the time you can get the stand with it and on average a stand for a 55 gal tank that I have found is between 200 and 250 bucks. I got the tank the stand and more for less than that.

MBilyeu

03-23-2009 08:23 PM

I just bought a tank off of craigslist and the only problem is that my wife says that I have to use the substrate and decor that came with it, otherwise I will want another tank to put that stuff in!;-) I just tell her that I will want another tank no matter what:-D